The present invention relates to a passenger restraining apparatus for restraining an occupant on a seat of a vehicle, such as an automotive vehicle, upon collision or the like and, more specifically, to an occupant restraining apparatus configured to inflate a bag with a gas generator upon collision.
As a system for restraining a passenger of an automotive vehicle upon collision, an apparatus that lifts a front portion of a seat cushion upon collision of a vehicle has been proposed in order to prevent a submarine phenomenon that the passenger tends to get through a lower side of a lap belt upon front collision even when a seatbelt is fastened. For example, a vehicle seat which is adapted to push a front end portion of the seat cushion upward by an airbag (seat bag) is described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 10-217818 (“JP Pub. No. '818”), which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
An airbelt apparatus (inflatable seatbelt apparatus) is publicly known as a passenger restraining apparatus, such as disclosed in, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2003-312439 (“JP Pub. No. '439”), which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. In the airbelt apparatus in the same publication, both a shoulder belt and a lap belt are inflatable. Gas from a gas generator provided in a buckle is introduced into the inflatable shoulder belt and lap belt via a tongue. The tongue and buckle are provided with a gas supply channel for supplying gas from the gas generator to the shoulder belt and the lap belt respectively.
A side airbag apparatus for causing an airbag to be inflated on the lateral side of the passenger is also widely used, such as disclosed in for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 10-100828 (“JP Pub. No. '828”), which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. In this publication, the gas generator is provided in a seatback.